Stop, Hammer Time
by TheShoelessOne
Summary: POV Hammer. The navigator feels that he's underappreciated in his line of work and never gets any thanks for what he does so well. Chapter 3 up!
1. Thank You

Stop, Hammer Time  
  
Why does this kinda stuff always seem to happen to me?  
  
I try to be the normal one, the mediator, the brains, even! But what does it all get me? A kick in the head from my dear Captain Matthews. I fix the catapult deck, no recognition. I navigate the ship and plot our courses, no one cares. I give simple suggestions, and I get a kick in the head. Everyone's favorite pilot Tony plays with a stick all day and is showered in congratulations while I go through mounds of trouble for them and get absolutely nothing.  
  
Of course I don't complain to their faces. I'm doing what I love to do. I just wish... they'd say "thanks" every once and a while...  
  
"Hammer!" Matthews shouted in my ear, making me jump. "Find us a U.M.N. column and jump us outta here!" I sighed, pressing my fingertips against the buttons on the console in front of me.  
  
"Aye, Captain," I called, "Column jump in 30 seconds." As we approached the column, I became steadily more hungry. This, I thought, was the perfect opportunity to escape the monotony of the bridge. Just as we entered hyperspace, I pushed myself up out of my seat.  
  
"Hey, where you goin'?" Matthews asked as I headed for the door. Without turning back to face him, I muttered my response.  
  
"Getting hungry," I said, "Gonna get some food."  
  
"Knock yourself out, then," the Captain told me, a hint of sarcasm splattered in his voice. If any other remark was made, it went unheard as the doors slid shut behind me. I sighed. I didn't think that there was enough ice cream in the galaxy to make me feel any better. Mmm... Ice cream sounded good.  
  
My shoes clicked on the metal floor of the Elsa as I made my way to the kitchen. As I rounded the cabins in the middle of the floor, I almost connected with Shion, who was holding a large quantity of A.G.W.S parts in her hands. She stumbled backwards a bit, then righted herself.  
  
"Sorry! Sorry, Hammer..." she said, fumbling with the large metal gear. I caught it as it was about to hit the floor.  
  
"You need some help?" I asked. She shook her head, a smile playing on her features.  
  
"No, but thank you," she said. As she walked toward the elevator, she turned her head back, "Actually, I think I may have dropped something..." I immediately discovered the lost piece and placed it on top of her teetering stack.   
  
"Here you go," I uttered. She nodded.  
  
"Thanks, Hammer!" With that, the Vector employee started off to the bowels of the ship. I scanned the floor for any more lost pieces, and, upon finding none, continued on my way to get some food. I walked up the steps and pressed the button to open the door only to find the pink-haired MOMO standing on a stool in front of one of the cabinets. She turned at the sound of the door and smiled.  
  
"Hello, Hammer!" she chimed. I nodded to her.  
  
"Hey MOMO," I looked at the stool she was standing on, "You need something?"  
  
"Actually," she started, a hint of embarrassment in her sweet voice, "I didn't think the pepper would be up so high and..."  
  
Without thinking, I stepped up on the stool quickly and stretched my hand out, snatching the elusive pepper shaker.  
  
"Yeah, I have no idea why Tony keeps it up there either. Here," I said, handing her the pepper.  
  
"Thank you!" she told me, flashing her cute smile. She ran back to her tray of food, most likely off to share her lunch with Ziggy again. I shrugged, heading toward the freezer. Oh good, only one container of ice cream left... and it was all mine. I said goodbye to MOMO and went to sit in the cafe. I opened the container and looked inside. Double-chocolate with fudge: my favorite. Just as I dug into the ice cream to get my first spoonful, Allen came bursting into the cafe. He looked the room over once frantically, then sighed in despair. I tried to act as if I wasn't there, but unfortunately, he noticed me.  
  
"Hammer... hey. Have you, er, seen the Chief?" he asked, his face contorted with worry, "She left this on the bridge..." He held up a small but vital-looking A.G.W.S. part in his left hand.  
  
"She just left for the A.G.W.S. hangar," I told him, just wanting to get back to my ice cream. Allen's face lit up with new light, and he smiled broadly.  
  
"Hey, thanks!" he voiced, gripping the part Shion had accidentally left behind as he turned to leave. After he had, I began to eat again, and as I did I couldn't help but think that there was something wrong with that guy. I picked the ice cream container up with one hand and scooped the last remnants of chocolate ice cream from the bottom with my spoon in the other. I felt a little better, but still feeling unfulfilled, I grabbed another dessert, a small piece of stale cake, and began to go down the elevator. I shoveled the cake down my throat in the short ride to the bottom floor. Upon exiting, however, I found myself face-to-face with the cyborg Ziggy. he stood in the hallway in front of me for a few moments, then he spoke.  
  
"Hammer, you are just the man I wanted to see," he said. I felt a sudden pang of pride, and I emerged from the elevator to join him.  
  
"Whadda ya need?" I asked him as the two began walking toward the catapult deck.  
  
"The ship MOMO and I used to escape the U-TIC Organization still sits where it landed, correct?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, unless the Captain ejected it without me knowing."  
  
"I believe that it may have some salvageable parts which may be of some value to either Captain Matthews or yourself. I was wondering if you wished to help me disassemble it."  
  
"Why not?" I said, adding, to myself, "No one else on this ship needs me anyway..."  
  
Ziggy was right. Some pretty valuable parts were in that hunk of junk. We spent at least a good two hours picking through that parts, and we probably could have continued if Captain Matthews hadn't come over the intercom.  
  
"Hammer! Get your ass up to the bridge!" he demanded. I grumbled lightly, getting down from inside the hulking carcass of the U-TIC ship. I turned to Ziggy, who had been taking apart one of the engines on the ground. He stood, trying to wipe some grease spots off himself. I sighed.  
  
"You can take whatever parts you want, then," I said.   
  
"I forgot to thank you," Ziggy called after me.  
  
"Naw, don't worry about it," I told him, heading for the exit. My demeanor fell when I left the catapult deck, and the drudge to the bridge was close to miserable. When I finally showed on the bridge, Matthews was exasperated.  
  
"He arrives!" the Captain announced obtrusively, "We gotta get outta hyperspace, kid."  
  
"Right," I muttered. I pressed the few buttons that were necessary, then moved to get up. I heard Matthews stir in his seat.  
  
"Hey Hammer! You've had an attitude all day! You got somethin' to say to me then say it!" That did it. I spun around, ready to scream.  
  
"Captain, I navigate, plot, investigate, fix and make trajectories constantly on the ship and I never get any-" I was going to say 'I never get any thanks', but I thought back to earlier that day, back to Shion, MOMO, Allen and Ziggy. I remembered each of them really, sincerely smiling and thanking me. I remembered how good it made me feel to be thanked like that.  
  
"Hey, kid, you fall asleep mid-sentence?" Matthews' voice came again. I snapped back to reality and blinked a few times. "You were saying somethin'?" I looked to the floor, remembering their thanks, then looked back to my Captain and shook my head.  
  
"No... No, forget it," I said with a slight smile. I moved back to my station, just in time to hear Captain Matthews utter:  
  
"I'm surrounded by morons."  
  
End. 


	2. Inside a Gnosis

Ziggy and I never did get to finish taking apart the ship we'd started on. Something came up. A big something. A getting swallowed by the largest Gnosis known to man something. It all happened so fast that neither Tony nor myself had any time to react. We couldn't back out. We couldn't shoot forward. We couldn't even fire our thrusters. We just were. Something must have happened to knock me out cold. Maybe we hit something that sent me flying from my seat. Whatever happened, I was sitting at my station one second and sprawled on the floor next to chaos' station. Except that chaos wasn't at his station. He was just gone. I tried to push myself up off the floor, but a blinding pain shot through my skull. I grabbed for my forehead in futile attempts to soothe the searing pain. I gritted my teeth and felt tears start to wet the corners of my eyes.  
  
"Hammer!" Matthews' gruff voice came from behind me, "You all right, kid?" he asked. That was concern in his voice. For a moment, I felt guilty of previously thinking that he didn't care about me. I forced myself into a sitting position on the cold, hard floor of the Elsa's cockpit. I adjusted my glasses, which had gone askew in my unplanned flight across the room. My eyes focused on the bulky form of the Captain, standing directly over me, a large welt growing on the left side of his face. I rubbed my forehead, reminded of the increasing pain in my own head.  
  
"Man," I whispered in awe, looking around the cockpit at the debris that had been scattered in the collision, "What just happened?"  
  
"Hear, hear!" I heard Tony call from his seat further up. I scanned his person for any injuries, and saw that there was a series of bruises on his face and shoulders. Matthews' sighed, pulling a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it with one deft stroke.  
  
"I have no idea," he told us honestly, "Last thing I knew, you went flyin' from your seat and knocked your head on chaos' chair there. Consider yourself a lucky kid," he took a moment to draw at his cigarette, and as he exhaled, he continued, "If you hadn't been wearin' that stupid headgear of yours, your head woulda been split clean open." Tony shuddered visibly.  
  
"Please, Captain! I just ate!"  
  
"We all know damn well you didn't, ya moron!" Matthews grunted, "You were up here all- ah, hell with it..." When the Captain mentioned chaos, my thoughts went again to his sudden disappearance. I tried to stand, but was overwhelmed by dizziness and was forced to sit back in the same position on the floor. I looked pathetically up to the Captain and asked my question.  
  
"Er, Captain... Where IS chaos?"  
  
He looked perplexed for a moment, then puffed lightly on his cigarette, seeming like he didn't have a care in the world. I shot him an unpleasant look, displeased with his calmness. Matthews either disregarded the look I shot him or he didn't notice.  
  
"He probably snuck off to the cabins to see how the others are doing. Speaking of which..." Matthews flipped on the intercom switch and spoke loud enough so that anyone on the ship could have heard his voice, "Hey, Miss Vector! Come on up to the bridge and bring chaos with you, while you're at it!" We waited for minutes in agonized silence. Matthews hit the com switch again, speaking louder, "Miss Vector?" A fear began to grow in my heart as I waited for the bridge doors to open and for Shion to waltz in, asking why the Captain was shouting so loudly. But she didn't come. Tony had turned around by now, his green eyes darting from the Captain, standing silently, to the doors, which had yet to open. After frightening moments of unbroken silence, we were rewarded with the sound of shoes clicking on the metal floor outside the doors. But who entered onto the bridge, we did not expect.  
  
Allen Ridgely, his eyes looking like they would yield tears at any second, stood stiff and tall, obviously to keep himself from breaking out weeping. My heart leapt with joy that someone other that Tony, the Captain and myself was breathing on this ship. But my heart sunk back to the depths when Allen related his statement.  
  
"The Chief's gone," his voice trying to mask his sadness, "They're all gone... I-" his voice broke, and he stopped to wipe a tear that made its way down his face, "I looked for all of them- the Chief, KOS-MOS, chaos, Ziggy and MOMO- but no one was... they all were..."  
  
"Take a deep breath, kid," Matthews told him quietly, his voice holding a grave tone I had never heard him use before. I blinked rapidly in succession. Gone? Gone where? Where could five people have snuck off to in this little ship? Why? I furrowed my brows in contemplation, only to have pain shoot through my head again. As I cradled my head in my hands, I heard Tony speak from his position at the helm.  
  
"Maybe," his now timid voice came, "they're out there somewhere..." As worried as I was about the others, contempt and ridicule rose in my voice.  
  
"Isn't 'out there' outer space? How could they possibly..." I glanced up at Allen, his face contorted with horror as he stared out the front window. I dared to look behind me, to where Allen, Tony and the Captain were all staring. At first I was inarticulate. It was impossible. I heard Allen at my station, pressing buttons in a succession I was unfamiliar with. He made a sound that sounded as if what he found confirmed what he sought, but he didn't like the outcome.  
  
"We're inside..." Allen took another deep breath, "Inside a Gnosis."  
  
"Sweet mother of God..." Matthews whispered. I felt my heart in my throat. Everything seemed to freeze inside of me. I was cold inside and out. They were out there... Out there in that mess... Somewhere. My heart ached at the thought that we might never be able to find them. I would never hear MOMO's bright laughter, see chaos' caring face, hear Shion scolding Allen, feel KOS-MOS' demanding presence, or sense Ziggy's demure silence. Sure, I had only known four of them for a few days... but all of them were the most unique, singularly engaging people I had even known. I think that the others had been talking while I spaced out, and, without warning, I jumped to my feet, dots of pain flashing before my eyes.  
  
"Well, we gotta go find them!" I cried. I almost lost my balance, but I grabbed onto chaos' chair to keep from falling over. Matthews and Tony turned to me, seemingly taken by surprise. I hit my fist on chaos' chair to emphasize my point, "We can't just leave them out there if there's even a single chance of finding them! You can't knowingly-"  
  
"Cool it!" Matthews interjected, holding his hands up as if in defense, "Cool your jets! I wasn't gonna leave 'em out there." Then quietly, to himself, as if trying to uphold some sort of dignity, "They still owe me money." I blinked again, then realized that my head was stinging with needle-points of pain. My knees buckled, and I started to fall, but Matthews grabbed my arm and slung it over his shoulder. I was taken aback.  
  
"Captain?"  
  
"Tony!" He called, helping to prop me up, "Check the thrusters and fire 'em up! Tell your friend there," he indicated Allen at this point, "to throw on the searchlights. We don't leave until we find every single one of 'em. Got me?  
  
"Aye, sir!" Tony cajoled, his eager face turning back to the helm. Allen, still at my station, looked nervously at the control panel. I sighed hopelessly, wishing only that he didn't destroy my work station. The Captain started walking for the doors, propping me up with his shoulder. He helped me off of the bridge and to my cabin. He stood in the doorway as I sat on my bunk, still feeling pricks of pain in my brain. After a second of waiting, Matthews cleared his throat.  
  
"Anyway... For yesterday... er... Sorry," he mumbled. I stared, amazed, then nodded. Before I could say thanks, he left, letting the door close behind him. I leaned back on my pillow, taking off my headgear and feeling the growing lump protruding from my skull. I hadn't thought about it until now, but I realized how much my life had changed ever since KOS-MOS commandeered our ship. I realized that I ha been selfish before, asking for nothing but thanks, while I myself didn't thank Tony for what he did for us. Not until I learned that five of our number had disappeared did I really think about what I had learned from each of them. Patience from chaos, reasoning from KOS-MOS, cheer from MOMO, respect from Shion, and nothing but the truth from Ziggy. Each of these people meant so much to me, and I was just now realizing it.  
  
I hugged my knees up to my chest. If I tried not to think about them, I only worried more. They might be fighting for their lives down there inside of the Gnosis, and here I was, curled up like a baby in my dark cabin. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair. I should be up there helping the guys find the others, not whining and wasting away in my room. It wasn't right.  
  
It wasn't fair. 


	3. Lost and Found

I didn't know I'd fallen asleep. It was more like I had drifted off into unconsciousness than knowingly gone to sleep. I was still sitting as I had been, my knees curled up to my chest, my arms curled around my legs. My head had fallen to my knees, my eyes closed and breathing regulated. I didn't know you could cry in your sleep until that day. After images of my friends from days past drifted through my mind, my eyes began to flutter open. At first, my eyes wouldn't focus, and the room seemed to swim before my eyes. I blinked a few more times, and the world around me slid slowly into focus. I realized that the most of the pain in my had had subsided, and I reached up to feel the bump on my head, and was relieved to discover that it had receded substantially back into my forehead. I went to rub my eyes to rid them of their sleep, only to find that my eyes were wet with tears. I recoiled quickly, almost causing me to fall out of my bed. It hit me then.  
  
I was crying.  
  
Tears welled in my eyes, and I felt like I couldn't stop them from coming, even if I had wanted to. But I wanted to cry. And I did. I pulled myself into a little ball once more, hiding my face in my knees, and I cried. They were gone. It all washed over me like a tidal wave, the fact that my friends, all of them, were gone. I gripped my knees closer to my body as it was racked with my sobs. As I closed my eyes, it only caused more tears to spill down my face. I remembered it was only yesterday that I heard MOMO laugh and smile at me. Only yesterday that Ziggy and I worked together. Only yesterday that we all ate dinner together in the cafe. Now they were gone. Everyone but the Captain, Tony, Allen and myself. I burrowed my face into my arms. If I tried hard enough, I could almost hear them. They were all so happy. We had all been so happy. Why did this have to happen? I wanted only to go back to then, when we were together, if only to hear them again. It was then that my ears picked up a real voice, standing at my door. I nearly jumped, trying to quickly wipe away my tears.  
  
"Hammer," the voice called. I could barely make out the form of Tony standing in my doorway, surrounded by the light from the outside room. He moved to switch on the light, and I had to squint my eyes to keep them from taking in too much light at once. The golden-haired pilot looked at me, most likely disheveled and red-eyed from crying, and sighed, looking to his feet, "You feelin' any better?" he asked me. I was surprised. Why would he come talk to me if that were all he had to ask? He was supposed to be looking for the others. I sniffled and looked away.  
  
"Yeah," I said quietly, my voice cracking.   
  
"No offence, but you look like shit," Tony almost laughed. I slumped my shoulders, my eyebrows furrowing in anger. Wasn't there enough to worry about without Tony coming down to put me down?  
  
"You come all this way just to insult me?" I asked. He shook his head, looking at me now. I glanced over my shoulder at him.  
  
"No, we-" he paused, as if choosing his words this time, then he smiled weakly, almost sadly, "We need your help."  
  
I looked up, my shoulders now rigid, my tear-streaked face now full of new fear. I stood slowly, not wanting to fall over again from getting up too fast, "What's wrong?" I asked. Tony brushed a hand through his hair, sighing.  
  
"We can't see a thing out there, except where the spotlights are. And I can't drive if I can't see what's in front of me. It's a nightmare. We... We really need your help, Hammer. If you wanna find them-"  
  
"Let's go," I told him, brushing past his shoulder as I walked by him in the doorway. I walked slowly, but he still paused a moment before following me to the bridge. I entered through the double doors, and as soon as I did, I saw what Tony was talking about.  
  
The inside of the Gnosis was inky black, save for the two spotlights that moved back and forth relentlessly. Captain Matthews, his face set as stone, looked out through the front window, his fists clenched together. Allen, still at my station, worked the spotlights, his face sadder than I had ever seen it. They had failed to notice my entrance, so I walked forward, making my presence known.  
  
"You found anything yet?" By anything, I meant 'anyone'. Matthews looked over, trying to smile a bit, but failing. He shook his head sadly.  
  
"Feeling better?"  
  
"Fine," I lied. Tiny shocks of pain were sent through my head at regular intervals now. But that didn't matter anymore. I was through thinking only of myself. My friends needed me, and I would never let them down again. "What do you want me to do?" I asked. Matthews gave me an apprehensive look, then looked back to the glass window in front of us all.  
  
"Whatever works."  
  
That was all the instruction he gave me, but that was all I needed. I glanced at Allen, and he moved aside, offering me back my workstation. Tony walked in and sat at his usual seat at the helm. I took the few steps necessary to make it to my station, and I felt the cold material of my seat. My chair. This was where I belonged, here with my Captain and my friends. I would find them. I pushed myself into my seat, and began pressing buttons on the console. I didn't look at Allen when I spoke to him.  
  
"Why do you only have two searchlights on?" I asked, flipping the switches for the other four to come one. Allen, eyes wide, stuttered.  
  
"I... uh... didn't..."  
  
"Forget it," I said. Blood was pumping through me at an accelerated rate, and my fingers flew over the console. I was in my element now, and no one could stop me. I found the series of buttons that brought up a screen just in front of Tony's head. He jumped at its sudden appearance. MOMO, Ziggy and KOS-MOS would be easiest to pick up... I typed in the requirements for picking up the signal of a Realian, cyborg and android. I hoped to God it would work. We had never used the radar for anything but locating geocrystals. I hesitated before pressing the button. Would it work? I could almost hear chaos saying something in my mind.  
  
"You'll never know until you try, Hammer."  
  
That made up my mind. I prepared to press it, but millions of thoughts were running through my head. What if they were all separated?  
  
"I would never let that happen!" Shion seemed to say from nowhere.  
  
What if they were hurt?  
  
"Do you think I would let them hurt themselves?" I heard Ziggy in my head.  
  
What if we couldn't get to them?  
  
"Don't worry," MOMO's sweet voice came through, "I trust you."  
  
How long could they last out there?  
  
"There is a 95.9998% probability that a rescue ship will arrive within the time frame between now and our eventual starvation," KOS-MOS rambled on in my mind. I smiled, then pressed the button. A few seconds of a blank radar screen put fear back into my heart, but three differently colored dots suddenly appeared on the screen. Matthews broke out in his gruff laugh, and he slapped his knee.   
  
"There we go!" he yelled. The dots were close together, and moving. I sighed with relief. They were all right. If the three of them were together, it was likely that the other two were with them as well. Tony gave out a loud, "YEE-HAW!!" I stood at my station, giving instructions to the helmsman.  
  
"Just follow the radar! It'll make a siren sound if you're about to hit anything, so don't worry about that. Looks like they might be above us, so try to find a way upward somehow!" I tried to control my excitement. We were going to save them.  
  
"Whatever you say, Mr. Navigator!" Tony laughed, throwing on the thrusters. The pain in my head was gone. On my face, the smile seemed to grow wider. Matthews snubbed out his cigarette, a smile gracing his face as well. Allen, his face still unclear, leaned closer to me.  
  
"What about the Chief?" he asked. I reassured him by patting him on the back.  
  
"If KOS-MOS is there, then I'm sure Shion is too. Don't worry," I said not only to Allen, but to myself, "we'll find them."  
  
This I was sure of.  
  
An hour went by, in total silence. No one moved but Tony, and even his movements were minimal. I could hardly breathe. They were all right. They were all right. I kept repeating this, both knowing that it was true and hoping that it was true. There would be no way of knowing until we found them... I gripped the arms of my chair in anticipation. All I could do now was wait.  
  
Without warning, the ship shook violently. I almost was flung from my chair again, but luckily I had been holding onto my chair. Matthews slammed his fist down loudly.  
  
"Dammit, Tony, are you tryin' to kill us all?!"  
  
"It wasn't me, Captain!" Tony said, turning around. I knew it hadn't been him. The siren hadn't gone off. What just happened? It was then that my heart leapt into my throat.   
  
There they were!!   
  
Light was creeping into my field of vision. I looked out the window and saw not only the five of them seemingly floating in mid-air, but cracks forming in solid walls of the Gnosis around us. I jumped from my seat, pointing at the window, and to the others, who seemed to have become aware of the ship's presence.  
  
"Captain!" I shouted.   
  
"I know!" he called back, then he slammed on the outer ship intercom, "Heyyy, Ms. Vector! You still alive?" he said loud enough to where she probably could have heard him even without the intercom. Allen couldn't hold to himself any more, and, while Matthews still had his hand on the intercom, Allen shouted to her.  
  
"Chieeef! Are you all riiight?!" Allen yelled. Everyone in the cockpit covered their ears. Matthews took his had off the com switch and boxed Allen about the ears.  
  
"Ya moron! You didn't have to shout!" He turned to me, "Hammer!"  
  
"I know," I told him, flicking the switch to open the catapult deck. It opened with a loud whirring and clanking. I saw the five of them make their way as quickly as possible to the opened catapult. Allen wasn't the only one to move for the doors. He and I both made our way to the catapult deck, running the whole way. He made it through the door first, and ran toward Shion like I had never seen a man run before.  
  
"CHIEF!!" he yelled, looking like he was ready to embrace her. Almost out of breath, I slowed, but was caught around the midsection by the pink-haired Realian as she hugged me.  
  
"Thank you, Hammer!" she said, hugging my middle tight. I knelt down to her height and hugged her back, "Thank you for saving us!" I felt like I was going to cry again. They were back. I looked up as Shion, trying to scoot away from Allen, chaos, KOS-MOS and Ziggy made their way toward me. I stood as Ziggy walked up to MOMO and I, and shook his hand.  
  
"Sorry the ship got sucked out when we opened the catapult," I said. I thought I saw the smallest semblance of a smile on his face.  
  
"What's more important, Hammer? A ship, or her life?" he asked, indicating MOMO. I looked down at the Realian, then back to the cyborg. He was right. I smiled too. They were back. They were finally all back. And little did they know how much they had helped me.   
  
"Thanks, you guys," I said, barely audible, as we all made our way back up to the bridge.  
  
I had no idea what would happen after that moment, but I knew that I wished I could have lived in it forever. These were my friends...  
  
And I would go through Hell for them.  
  
End.  
  
AN: I know that the Gnosis follow the ship after the Elsa saves the party, but I think that's not so much a Hammer part as it is a KOS-MOS or Shion, so... This is where I end this story. Hope you had fun! ~TSO 


End file.
